Embalming fluid. Fish scales. Platinum ceremonial knives. What do these items have in common? They will each make an appearance in one of the upcoming tests still to roll out for Tale 7.

T6 Monument Tests

The following tests are player-created tests voted on at the end of previous Tales that are still to be released, and will be released, in T7.

Hand of Ra (Architecture)

A building test somewhat like Obelisk or Cartouche, where you need to build the largest mirrored pyramid in a region. Every size increment increases the chance of your Hand of Ra spontaneously collapsing. However, you can rectify collapse by also having in hand one or more Sigils you’ve also built, which will essentially “re-roll” your pyramid.

Test of Sculptors (Art)

Basically the “Survivor” of Art, where a sculptures are built by teams and voted on by the public. When a team advances, the team splits so that team mates are now competing against each other with two new scupltures and against the previous winning sculpture they built together.

Test of the Fisherman (Body)

Similar to Ritual Tattoo but for fish. You will get a list of 7 fish and must fulfill 4 out of 7 to turn in your list and get a new one. After completing the test, you can do it again (like you can with Monumental Towers) and on your second run through, you will win the ability to construct the existing fishing poles currently only available for events.

Test of the Giving Fisherman (Harmony)

In this test, a player compiles a gift of fish meat, fish scales and citrus fruit to present to another player. Each player has preferences for specific fish meats, fish scale colours and types of fruits they like to recieve. Similar to Archaeologist, how closely your gift matches their ideal on each variable will determine the score of each gift.

Test of the Touristor (Leadership)

A led Venery tour with a minimum of 5 stops, 7 players and a quiz at each stop! Scores are based on the number of people who complete your tour. The tour guide with the most accumulated points each week wins.

Alchemist’s Rune (Thought)

Similar to hexas, players will build and design a nonogram test – essentially a graphic crossword, like Soduku with colours. Runes can be made in various levels of complexity (like Mosiacs) using one to three colours.

Ritual Mummification (Worship)

A group ritual test in the tradition of many Worship tests. Cadavers (no, really) will be obtained from the University and need to be embalmed with a series of materials and completed with a group ritual.

Isis’s Bounty (Body)

A delayed T5 legacy test that is basically a scavenger hunt for pieces of an old ship that are put together to pass.

Revived Tests

Test of Trust (Leadership)

This old, dusty test is being rewritten with new and devious twists and turns and new options for acquiring travel time. (Apologies: notes on this have been lost but this post will be updated when the correct information is re-acquired.)

Pending Tests

Takeskot (Body) last used in T2; Host and Patronage (Leadership) last used in T2; True Leadership (Leadership); Orchesrtra (Art) last used in T4 on the 2nd shard; Banquet (Body) from T6.

Much of this weekend’s Player Meet at Pluribus HQ in Aurora was spent discussing future developments for Tale 8. (YES THERE WILL BE A T8!) The following are under consideration for the next Tale, and may or may not be implemented. (Also note that your Editor may or may not have the attention span of a gnat and may or may not have the details correct.)

A possible revamping of paint

A revamp of mining tied to the idea that the more a mine is mined, the more levels of the mine open, meaning a mine can eventually have multiple ore types and players can choose what level/ore to mine

A region revamp and a re-balancing of resources to make the CSs slightly less advantageous to build near and to push builds and camps further out from the CSs to combat crowding

With the very first event for the newly opened Test of Festivals having just hit calendars with a Festival for Isis scheduled for early October, it seemed like a good time to talk Festivals. The Daily Scarab sat down over a cup of ambrosia with Peacefulness, a Sage of Worship and elder in Festivals Guild, to discuss this complex group test and what goes into it.

TDS: So what is Test of Festivals?

Peacefulness: For Festivals, our main goal is to please seven Egyptian gods and goddesses. Each has its own favorite items. To prepare for the test, two players perform a specific ritual at a common altar, and receive instructions about what that god requires from them. When it is time for the festival, each player follows their instructions to satisfy that particular god. When a large number of players (or at least three) please a god in a short timeframe (within an hour of one another) they all make progress in the test.

TDS: To anyone who hasn’t explored it or just looked at the test requirements, it seems difficult, complicated and like it will take forever. What are the positives and what do you enjoy about it?

Peacefulness: The Test of Festivals, in my opinion, is the ultimate cooperative test. I love the fact that it provides complex goals for experienced players. It IS complicated, and it does take the extended efforts of many people and guilds to provide the perfumes, aromatic honeys, dyed silk ribbons, beers, wines, spirits and flowers needed to please each god.

TDS: Roses! It seemed like for weeks all we heard about was roses this, Xenobotany that, Tech this, fertilize that. What is so important about roses for Festivals?

Peacefulness: Like many tests, in order to demonstrate that Egypt was ready, we had to gather together a bit of everything needed for the test. A 3x giant Rose of Ra happened to be the final item needed to open the test of festivals. Many thanks to Ariella for her hard work and persistent posts to Egypt Today! We Egyptians need a lot of reminders to keep working toward big goals.

TDS: What is the role of the Festivals Guild and what do people need to do to take part?

Peacefulness: Festivals Guild is one of several guilds whose goal is to coordinate this test and provide the materials and encouragement needed to enable players to succeed at the Test of Festivals. The test also encourages players to gather in one place at a scheduled time and is an excellent opportunity to collect signatures and trade acro moves. It gets us out of our home camps and reminds us that this is a social game!

To participate in the Test of Festivals, a player needs to be at least level 9 and have completed the Worship Initiation. All players are encouraged to join the Festivals Guild. The guild hall is in River Plains 1373, 2942, across the road from zFree. Membership is open: the approval of an elder is not required to join, and you can start chatting with guild members right away.

The L3 Beetle Garden in 7L is open for judging with some excellent entries awaiting your declaration. As of right now, the Garden needs 7 more votes, and while it’s a bit of a hike, it is well worth the trip to 7L 730, -1881.

To reach the beetle garden, come out at the 7L CS and head north along the road. Take the first left and head towards the Nile. Cross the first bridge you come to and carry on south. The garden will appear on your left at the next bridge after U Thought. Happy trails!

Egyptians are being encouraged to eat better and add more natural foods to our diets with a cooking contest today. The contest asks budding chefs to create a recipe with at least 20 added Strength, Dexterity and Endurance using Common Rosemary and Catfish in the ingredient list.

Times are on your in-game Calendar, and the prizes are great, including a fishing pole and pearls!

In advance of the fishing contest, the chef behind the popular River Plains Cafe, Styx, will be holding a Cooking Clinic for those looking to improve their cooking or to create their own recipes. The Clinic will cover:

The good news is: there is a multi-scheduled herb event with great prizes this weekend! Check your in-game calendar to find all three hours this event will be held in your local time zone.

The bad news is: the event announcement may (or may not!) be a clue that sickness will once again hit Egypt, potentially spreading from already-stricken sailors to the rest of the population:

Sickness is amongst the sailors of the Bella Dama! Captain Belzoni has reluctantly turned to Melanie because of her expertise in botanical medications. One of the symptoms is severe coughing which can be helped with tincture applications on the chest of Mountain Mint and another herb.

In a previous Tale, a coughing disease spread among citizens while Egypt was theoretically charged with finding a cure. In practice, most of Egypt just hacked phlegm all over each other for weeks on end while a handful of skilled researchers worked like dogs to find a cure. So maybe hold on to your Mountain Mint…

Regardless of what may follow, the events team has once again come through with a lineup of “do want!” prizes, as follows:

Made from the finest Egyptian cotton and thoughtfully developed over the long and intense 10 minutes when the ATITD server was offline for scheduled maintenance, these alternative ATITD t-shirts are available wherever fine camels are sold.

There will be an acro event this Saturday night/Sunday morning to help those who still need to fill in their acro moves to pass principles or to progress through the Test of the Acrobat. If you haven’t started this test and are Level 3 or higher, get down to your nearest U Body and sign up so you don’t miss this chance to acro with a group of people.

Please check your in-game calendar for your local event start time if you are unsure about when to turn up for Acro! If your in-game clock is correct, the time on the Calendar even will be local to you. To get the Calendar to pop up: Self > Utility > See the Calendar.

You’ll find the River Plains Acro Stadium at 1710, 2692 just a few minutes south of the CS (even at a slow jog!) Follow the road running south of the CS and the acro stadium is the black SSS-shaped thing you can see on your map when you hit F3.

The Acro Field has designated spots the necessary distance apart for acro “privacy.” People will stand at a station and those needing acro will move from station to station in a line.

Brand new, ultra cute otters have been released in the new store, and are available for purchase for $50USD. These adorable creatures scamp around your camp, and can be trained to run around a set footprint. They will even come when their owner calls!

The motion on these is really lovely, and they have all kinds of movement in addition to graceful, wave-like running, including sitting up and even dancing with pert little paws.